When I recently called up my local DSL provider, there was no doubt about the location of the person at the other end of the line.

"Hello, this is Sam," a tech support guy told me with an accent that I was oh so familiar with from years dining in Indian restaurants.

If this guy's first name was Sam, then my first name is Ramesh. Of course I had been patched through to India. But so what? "Sam" helped me resolve my issue and I hung up a satisfied customer.

Now what if John Kerry becomes President and acts on his campaign demand that call center employees disclose their location when they speak with U.S. customers? I obviously haven't watched my job migrate overseas. But if Kerry's proposal becomes law, you have to wonder whether an already ticked off unemployed chip engineer would hit the roof after learning that he's talking to Bangalore.

Seems to me that this is one campaign pledge that's not worth the paper it's printed on.

About the author

Charles Cooper was an executive editor at CNET News. He has covered technology and business for more than 25 years, working at CBSNews.com, the Associated Press, Computer & Software News, Computer Shopper, PC Week, and ZDNet.
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